Since airstrikes weren’t enough to stop Palestinian forces from firing rockets into Israeli cities, Israel launched a full ground assault against Hamas-controlled Gaza over the last few days.

On the deadliest day of the battle so far, 70 Palestinians and 13 Israeli soldiers were killed.

Although the United Nations has requested a ceasefire, the world’s superpowers are mostly staying out of the bloodbath. Even Obama is sitting on the sidelines – making him the first American president since the founding of Israel in 1948 to not side with the Jews.

It’s unlikely that anyone from the outside could settle this dispute, anyway. Maybe death and pain are the only solutions to ending this ongoing war.

After all, sometimes lasting peace only comes after total devastation…

Out of Chaos Comes Order

Let’s put this latest conflict into historical perspective…

Conflicts between Gaza and Jerusalem have been erupting for nearly 6,000 years. In fact, the only years of relative peace between the two were under the regimes of Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and Saladin.

Palestinians are Arabs; and a majority of them share a religion and language with Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and more. If they want peace, they could simply repatriate to one of these countries and live the quiet life.

Instead, they have an obsession with Israel and Israelis. Hamas, the current leaders in Gaza, have professed repeatedly that they desire to commit genocide against Israel.

That sounds just like another Holocaust. And Israel is a country whose vast majority of citizens have already had family members killed in previous genocidal attempts.

Because the overall trauma of the Holocaust is seared on the collective psyche of the nation, the Israelis never allow themselves to be put in a similar position of vulnerability.

As a result, when Hamas leaders run around preaching hatred of Jews and death to the Jewish nation, they set up an unsolvable political crisis… and, inevitably, the Israelis strike back!

Indeed, Israelis have reached a boiling point with the constant rocket bombardment and harassment. In the end, they may do what the Romans did to Jerusalem and simply annihilate Gaza City.

Israelis are ultimately looking to find peace and eliminate evil…

An Unexplainable Evil

One of the most emotional experiences in my life was visiting the Yad Vashem Museum in Israel. It was in the great hall of this complex that you begin to understand the unexplainable evil of people seeking to commit the “final solution” against any ethnic group.

How hatred could run like ice through the veins of any human being (to the point of rejoicing in the deaths of others), I will never comprehend. Nazis actually used the skin, teeth, and other body parts of Jews to make everyday items – merely labeling them as “animal products.”

If you cannot travel to Israel yourself, I recommend that you spend some time on YadVashem.org. This may give you some understanding of why Israelis are moving to protect themselves and their children.

Bottom line: In any conflict, no side is without fault. And in moments of quiet reflection, most Israelis will candidly share regrets and sorrows about the now-decades-long conflict with the Palestinians. But despite the regrets, they’re extremely committed to ending the rain of rockets on their families and children.

They simply can’t handle another Holocaust.

This commentary originally appeared at WallStreetDaily.com and is reprinted here with permission.